The Shadow and the Star

by Laura Kinsale

Book Overview

From nationally acclaimed bestselling author Laura Kinsale comes a boldly original, breathlessly unforgettable tale of honour, adventure and undying love. The Shadow is wealthy, powerful and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380761319
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Avon
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.2" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Vivid!

I had to write a defense of Leda, as one articulate reviewer made such a powerful case against her contemptible passivity and conventionality. I, too, did not "relate" to Leda in that I admire women who rebel against the establishment, who actively wrest control of their lives from The Man, who are independent in outlook, and intelligent, original thinkers. None of these attributes can be applied to Leda. One of the most rare and valuable aspects of Kinsale's layered approach to buidling a character is that she can create characters who "disappoint" reader expectations, yet are completely true to the times, to human nature, and to their own internal workings. The way Kinsale takes the Romance genre conventions and stands them on their head is PRECISELY what is brilliant about her work. It is also, usually, the reason (some) readers struggle with characters who don't have the familiar markers stamped on their foreheads which we use as an aid to comprehension, and writers use as a shortcut to the hard work of developing a character. So, you've never encountered a heroine like Leda, one who struggles with money, who supports herself at the edge of destitution, and if you don't feel her desparate struggle to stay on the "proper" side of the the thin line that separates the Respectable from the Disreputable, when one has not got enough money to pay next week's rent on the tenement one lives in, well... all I can say is perhaps you've never spent the night worrying about your finances. It's more usual for romance readers to encounterd "impoverished earls" and such who still manage to attend house parties and move about their social circle. Leda is absolutely on her own, sinking on her own. And she's not sinking from a platform high enough in the social stratosphere that if she comes down a peg, or two or 10, that she'll still be living in gentility - she's starting down at the shopgirl, laundress, typist level of the working class from the beginning, and below that is only... prostitute, or some version of kept woman. Or she could get married, and she does try to get someone to marry her - a policeman in the tenement. Leda does take action, within the proscribed limits her upbringing and values impose on her, to improve her own well-being and security, and she refuses to contemplate other, more obvious, options that are more easily available to her. Leda's sense of there being Right ways and Wrong ways of making a living, her unshakable sense of Ladylike Behavior, is not crafted to appeal to a 21st century reader - but it is this very part of her internal worldview that propels the story. It's also the thing that Samuel, the hero, needs from her. I like that Kinsale hasn't pandered to my preferences when designing a heroine for Samuel, but has created someone who exactly has what Samuel lacks.

Another powerful & most definitely atypical romance

Wow! Laura Kinsale is an excellent writer of multifaceted romances. This novel could pass for general fiction but it is definitely a romantic story. Her stories contain such substance with strong secondary characters, an excellent suspense/mystery sideline, and a most unusual romance. Kinsale is not my favorite romance author but she is distinctly compelling and intense in her writing style. She does not write "quick reads". Her stories require a reader's dedication and effort to fully enjoy her complex stories.Samuel is the handsome, golden haired hero trained in the martial arts and raised in Hawaii by a loving couple, the Ashlands, alongside their two younger children. Samuel is more than your normal, wonderful romance hero. He is even more self-assured and captivating even though he embraces chastity. His quiet forceful manner hides the secrets and shame of a particularly abusive childhood from which the Ashlands had rescued him.Leda is a properly raised English woman on the fringes of London society. Although she doesn't see herself as such, she is a beautiful woman. She finds herself dismissed from her job unreasonably one day and is desperate to find another position - hopefully as a typist. Leda is one of the most proper behaving young ladies I have ever read. She doesn't even get near anything that could be remotely related to improper situations or behavior. As she repeatedly fails in her search for employment, she finds herself in one compromising position after another.After a series of great encounters between Samuel and Leda, which I will not even begin to allude to, Samuel hires her as a typist. As she begins working for Samuel, she becomes acquainted with his family, the Ashlands, and is easily accepted into their midst. Samuel is a very self-controlled individual and cannot understand his strong physical attraction to Leda. He has already decided that he will marry another and his commitment to that is strong. Both Samuel and Leda fight their mutual attraction although Leda is so proper - not even meeting with her employer unless the door is open - that I found it amazing that they actually found the opportunity to become physically involved. There are some sensual scenes and they rate a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).To tell more about this story, other than it is a tremendous love story, would probably provide a spoiler of some sort. It is a very compelling read as Samuel and Leda discover through many trials and tribulations that they truly love each other. Samuel had a lot of issues with his duties as one highly trained in the martial arts and had to decide where his duty to Leda ranked. It is a wonderful "hide and seek" as the two grow together, then seemingly apart, then together again.I highly recommend The Shadow and the Star! I can remember so many of the details of this book even weeks later and I have read many other books in the meantime that I can barely - if at all

A Keeper and a Classic!

Kinsale knows what's sexy, what's romantic, and what touches the human heart. In "The Shadow and The Star," a young Samuel is rescued and raised by a loving, aristocratic Hawaiin family after a shockingly degrading, sexually-abusive childhood. Mercifully, this traumatic past is not described in detail but, rather, hinted at through vaguely-described flashes of memory that torment Samuel. Samuel, a beautiful, golden-haired boy, is given love, support, and a very comfortable lifestyle by his foster family, but he can never shake the feeling that he is unworthy of love and true acceptance due to what he feels is his overwhelmingly shameful past, and he lives in constant fear of saying or doing anything which might cause his "family" to reject him. Samuel leads a very quiet, solitary, and friendless existence. One day Dojun, a mysterious Japanese immigrant working for the family, reveals himself to Samuel as a martial arts master and begins teaching Samuel his craft. Samuel, so very anxious to please, and also finding satisfaction in the rigid control of the ancient discipline, a contrast to his inner turmoil, takes the lessons to heart and becomes a model student. As Samuel grows to manhood, he abhors his increasing sexual awareness of women, jumbling and twisting these natural feelings with his degrading past, and is fiercely shamed, horrified, and haunted by his sexuality. Dojun, who has become an increasingly powerful force in Samuel's life, encourages chastity in order that Samuel's every fiber is focused on the martial arts, and Samuel readily embraces such a lifestyle.By chance, Samuel meets Leda, an impoverished-but-genteel dressmaker who, to Samuel's chagrin, sparks and sets flame to the embers of sexuality that Samuel has fought so hard to keep banked. The two are drawn to one another, but to Samuel, Leda exposes the thing he hates most about himself. He struggles deeply with his feelings for Leda and the celibacy he clings to like a lifeline. Eventually, unable to deny the attraction any longer, Samuel and Leda (both virgins) give in to their feelings, but they are exposed the morning after, and, in keeping with the times, Samuel is urged by his family to marry Leda, since he's "ruined" her. Thrown together in such a way, Samuel must live with temptation every day, and as love blossoms, he grows more certain that, should Leda learn of his past, she would shun him and despise him. His well-ordered life begins to unravel as past and present collide. Leda is bewildered by Samuel's enigmatic mixture of supreme self-control and wounded vulnerability, his potent, explosive sexuality and his self-loathing. Slowly Samuel's heart is healed by Leda's unwavering love, in spite of his efforts to push her away. Amidst this beautifully touching and sexy love story is an underlying current of danger, and we come to learn what a powerful hold the mysterious Dojun has on Samuel's life.A unique, engrossing, and immensely satisfying read. Extre

A story you won't forget

I am French, so forgive me if you find some mistakes or bad grammar in my comments (although I read quite well english, I don't have many occasions to write it).I've been a romance reader for years now, and I must say that I tire easily with books which have no strength. To keep turning the pages, I need a good plot, strong characters and something more than the classic love story to keep me interested.For all these reasons, Laura Kinsale is my favorite author and The shadow and the star my very favorite book. The story is wonderful, with a quiet woman finding the way to heal the terribly abused hero. The plot may seem very simple, but it is anything but : the tortured hero is a virgin and a Ninja-like warrior, with an old Japanese butler for master, a quest for justice and a very dangerous ancient spade on his hands. The heroine a very, very proper but impoverished lady who, quite by accident, falls the mighty warrior by the way of a sewing machine.Laura Kinsale knows how to make her characters so lovable, so living with all their strengths and weaknesses, that they stay with you long after you closed the book. Another book I loved by the same author is Flowers in the storm. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Wonderful. Transcends Romance genre.

I am a new convert to the field of Romance novels, having gotten hooked in the last few months. When I discovered Laura Kinsale, however, I had to acknowledge I'd found a WRITER who happens to write Romance, rather than a "Romance Writer". This is the second book of hers I've read and I think it's wonderful. The characters are real, lovable, vulnerable and still somehow larger than life. Kinsale is often said to write "dark" novels or stories of "troubled" characters, I disagree with that. While "Shadow and Star" has a depth and sense of tragedy that isn't often found in Romance, I would hardly call it "dark". "Shadow and Star" demonstrates that Kinsale has a fine command of humor, social satire, action scenes and erotic/sexual matters. In this novel she evokes a strong and transporting sense of place (Hawaii). I would go so far as to call the book "poetic". (And certainly at the same time a well- researched, historical novel.) I think the two main characters in this novel are made for each other in the same quirky and mysterious way that real-life lovers manage to find each other and stay together. and I have every expectation that they will "live happily ever after". Bravo, Laura, and thank you for writing Romance. Whatever you chose to write I know it would have been outstanding.